Smudge Rituals - Healing Techniques That Work
Smudging is, in fact, the most popular ritual used to clear people and places of negative energy they would rather not surround themselves with. As a whole, smudging is used among many Native peoples within the western hemisphere and has played an active role for centuries.
Smudging is a cultural ceremony practiced by a wide variety of Indigenous people in Canada and other parts of the world. Smudging is the practice of burning various medicinal plants to cleanse ourselves and connect us with our spirit and with the Creator.
Smudging can help to calm the mind and focus.
f you’re using a smudge pot or Firebowl and loose herbs, light the herbs (using self-lighting charcoal—not the barbeque kind!) until it is smoking well. Then, put the Firebowl on the ground and stand over it with your legs spread and feet on either side. Weave back and forth in the smoke until you have been thoroughly cleansed. Clothing is optional for this approach, and smudging in the nude is recommended for a more thorough cleansing. Again, when you’re done, inhale a little of the smoke to purify your insides. People often feel more relaxed, lighter and brighter after smudging.
If you’re going to use the smudge smoke during meditation, use a charcoal burner or Firebowl, light the herbs and enjoy the scent and smoke as you meditate. Meditating with these herbs often produces a deeper and longer-lasting state of relaxation and contemplation.
Smudging can be used to protect the area from bad spirits.
In general, shamanic smudging can be used in daily life for practical purposes—to restore physical, mental and emotional balance; to shield against negative energies; to cleanse yourself, your magickal tools and your space; and to restore you sacred space.
It may also be used to cleanse, purify, and bless the part of our mother earth. For example, we may smudge around the sweat lodge or powwow and our homes to purify or bless special objects like ceremonial objects or totems, such as jewelry, rattles, or clothing. When you smudge your home, start from the left side of the walls, windows, doorways, and corners of the room and open the window and door to let negative energies out.
How to smudge a room
1. Light sage or other herbs to create a small flame.
2.Recognize that the smoke is the important element, not the flame.
3. Walk through your rooms clockwise and fan the smoke into the corners, ceiling, and floor.
4. Feel free to open windows and doors to release excessive negative energy that may exist due to a negative person or lagging illness in the house. Energy healers often recite at each corner of the room, ceiling, and floor, “Release all negative energy and allow only that which is meant for the highest good.”